Curiouser and curiouser: Flynn’s NSA appointment by Trump revealed to have been announced despite knowledge of his probe

North Carolina Daily - Friday 19th May, 2017

New expose claims Trump administration knew Flynn was under investigation and yet appointed him NSA

In the position as NSA, Flynn would be privy to America’s most classified secrets

Flynn was fired as the NSA in February for misleading White House officials about his talks with the Russian Ambassador

WASHINGTON, U.S. - As Flynn-troversy deepens, each revelation made into the increasingly deep and dark Russian connection probe has left America more curious.

Now, a report has revealed that ousted former National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn informed President Trump’s transition team weeks before the inauguration that he was under federal investigation.

Sources reportedly told the New York Times that Flynn informed the incoming Trump administration that he was being investigated for secretly working as a paid lobbyist for Turkey during the campaign.

The report alleges that despite this warning, that came a month after the Justice Department notified Flynn of the inquiry - Trump appointed Flynn as his national security adviser - a role in which he would be privy to America’s most classified secrets held by the country’s intelligence agencies and remain in close access range to the president.

The sources were further quoted as revealed that Flynn’s disclosure was first made to the transition team’s chief lawyer, Donald McGahn II, who is now the White House counsel.

Two days later, Flynn’s lawyer and transition lawyers reportedly held a conversation on the same lines.

This, the report claims is proof that the Trump team knew about the investigation of Flynn much earlier than was previously reported.

Flynn and the increasing number of loopholes in his story have become the epicentre of controversy generation for the Trump, who is already surrounded by a political crisis that has threatened to engulf his presidency into obscurity.

After holding the role of NSA for 24 days, Flynn was fired after it was revealed that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other senior administration officials about his communications with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, where he is said to have even discussed sanctions against Russia.

Reports then had stated that the president was informed just six days into his presidency that his national security adviser had misled the vice president about his contacts with Russia - he, however, chose to keep Pence in the dark and waited nearly three weeks before sacking Flynn, raising questions about why he was allowed to remain national security adviser for weeks afterwards.

Days before Trump fired FBI Director James Comey last week, fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates revealed that Trump administration officials were informed about the risk that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was a ripe blackmail target for Russia while in office.

In days that followed, it was revealed that following Flynn’s ouster, Trump tried to get Comey to drop the investigation against Flynn.

There is heated debate around the Capitol that Trump’s request to Comey, if proven, could be grounds for an investigation for possible obstruction of justice.

So far, the White House has declined to comment on whether officials were in the know about Flynn’s legal troubles before the inauguration.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr said that Flynn has refused to cooperate with the Committee.

Burr told reporters that Flynn is so far refusing to cooperate with the Senate Intelligence Committee, which has issued a subpoena for documents related to his interactions with Russian officials.

Burr said that Flynn’s lawyers have yet to turn over any documents, although there “may be a day or two left” for them to do so.

He added that “Michael Flynn has not cooperated with the committee up to this point” and that he has not received a “definitive answer” on whether he and his lawyers will comply.

While the chairman of the committee has declined to say whether he will hold a contempt of Congress vote regarding Flynn - he said, “I’m not going to go into what we might or might not do. We’ve got a full basket of things we might want to test.”

On the other hand, a report quoted two sources as saying that Flynn recnetly revealed that Trump was not only still in touch with him, but was also sending him support.

Flynn was reportedly heard saying, “I just got a message from the President to stay strong.”

Meanwhile, the House Intelligence Committee also announced on Thursday that it has requested documents from the Justice Department and the FBI related to Comey’s dismissal.

The committee is also said to be seeking any conversations between Trump and the former FBI director.

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